Plum or Navy
by Cipher6271
Summary: What do you get when you mix one bounty hunter who is usually lucky rather than skilled with the Navy's finest investigative team? Chaos of course. Reviews welcome.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of NCIS or the Stephanie Plum characters. I am only borrowing them for this little vignette then I will return them to their regularly scheduled lives._

_For those of you not familiar with the Stephanie Plum book series by Janet Evanovich, they are about Stephanie Plum who is a bounty hunter who usually gets the job done via a lot of luck, spunk, and chaos and more often than not gets herself in to a more trouble. Joining her in her adventures are her on again/off again boyfriend Morelli, her mentor Ranger, her friend Lula and her grandmother. As for NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) follows Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team of agents and support staff solving crimes committed against Naval and Marine personnel and property._

_This story is complete and I will post chapters as soon as I can. Feedback welcome in any form. I thank you for joining me in my own little world and enjoy._

Bond Enforcement, Stephanie Plum often wondered why she kept doing this job at the risk of life, limb and car. There were occasions when her mother's voice would pop into her head and remind her that she could be working at the button factory making a steady paycheck and not getting shot at or her car destroyed. Then she thought about the good parts of her job, such as working independently, make her own hours and the nice bonus money. She sighed and picked a familiar folder out of her bag.

Sitting in her Honda in front of Mrs. DePalma's, Stephanie thumbed through the file again hoping something about her skip would jump out at her. She'd visited his mother again with no luck. The brother was stationed at the Naval Weapons Station about an hour away. While she was thinking, a man in a naval uniform came out of the mother's house and got into a silver Pontiac. Stephanie decided to go ahead and follow him, even if he headed toward the coast.

He didn't head for the highway; he headed for the warehouse district. Traffic was kind of light so Stephanie eased off a bit then drove on past when he pulled up next to a building. She circled around and parked across the street a little ways. After he went inside, Stephanie got out of her car to follow. She made sure she got her purse, but something told her she might wish she had the gun that was at home in the cookie jar.

Stephanie slid up next to the building and tried to look into the window by the door but it was caked with grime. She took a deep breath and opened the door slowly, praying it didn't creak. She stopped to listen for voices or footsteps; anything that would tell her where the sailor wandered off to. After a moment or two she thought she heard voices and tip-toed that direction.

When she got to a corner, she stopped and listened. Was the sailor meeting with his brother, her skip? For a second there was nothing, so she peeked around the corner. A shot rang out and her shoulder was on fire. Before she had a chance to move, something hit her in the head and it was lights out.

Stephanie wasn't sure how long she lay there on the warehouse floor, but when she woke up it seemed darker except for the little flashes of light behind her eyes. She fumbled around for her purse and felt around for her cell phone. She picked herself up from the floor and looked up briefly, sliding back down the wall for much needed support. She dialed his number by heart. "Joe? I need help."

"Cupcake, I _am_ kind of in the middle of something." Morelli stated with a slightly annoyed tone.

"I've been shot." Stephanie explained, then a bit weakly. "I'm in a warehouse on Smith and oh, there's a dead sailor hanging from the rafters."

"Hang on Stephanie, keep talking to me. I'm on my way." Morelli said in a rush.

_________

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs came down the stairs from Vance's office. "Grab your gear." He yelled.

"What's up boss?" Tony queried grabbing his weapon, badge and bag.

"Dead sailor in Trenton." Gibbs said.

"As in New Jersey? Do we even have a Navy presence in Jersey?" Tony asked

McGee answered, "There is a Naval Weapons Station, but it is a bit closer to the coast then Trenton."

"Ah, of course McSmarty pants would know that." Tony quipped

Gibbs smacked Tony on the back of the head. "So should you."

The elevator doors closed on the four agents as two tried to hide their mirth at Tony's expense.


	2. Chapter 2

_Apologies for any delay in posting an update to this story. A new job and new classes keep a lady busy. Disclaimer: Once again I do not own, I only borrow, these characters from NCIS and Janet Evanovich and promise to put them back where I found them._

A little while later after they touched down at the airport in Trenton, they were met by two uniforms from Trenton P.D. They introduced themselves and directed them to the vehicles the Navy had procured for them. Gibbs and Dr. Mallard took one vehicle, while Tony, Ziva and McGee followed in the second. They were escorted to the crime scene by the two uniforms.

The first thing Gibbs noticed was the crime scene tape set up near the warehouse. There were quite a few officers both in uniform and in plain clothes. But no one appeared to be in the warehouse, except one. He came to the door to great them.

"Special Agent Gibbs?" the man asked. "I'm Detective Joe Morelli, Trenton P.D."

"This is Dr. Mallard, our Medical Examiner." Gibbs ushered Ducky forward. "and my team."

Morelli began to shake hands with everyone and then stopped suddenly when he got to Tony.

"Something I said?" Tony joked.

"Uh, no." Morelli said after collecting himself. "Something you should see."

Morelli waved the group inside the warehouse. "We left everything as we found it except for the person that called it in."

"We'll need to talk to him." Gibbs said.

"Her." Morelli corrected. "Her name is Stephanie Plum; she is a Bond Enforcement Agent."

DiNozzo was the first to see the face on the body and froze; McGee running into him.

"I'm dead." Tony whispered.

"You will be if aren't more careful." McGee complained. Then he looked up to where Tony was looking. "Holy moly."

Gibbs looked to see what had his agents so spooked. He knew that Tony didn't have any siblings so the sight was definitely a surprise.

------

The body was lowered to the floor and Dr. Mallard immediately began his examination. He estimated time of death at least six hours before. Morelli confirmed the call from Stephanie was about four hours before. McGee took pictures and Ziva sketched, Tony bagged and tagged. He picked up and ID wallet and cursed when he looked at it.

"Boss, I think there may be another snag in this?" Tony said

"What is it DiNozzo?" Gibbs moved closer to see what his agent was holding. Gibbs grabbed the ID and took a good look. Before he could ask, Tony already had his in his hand.

"Crap. We need to ID this guy quick and find out what he was up to." Gibbs said with a no argument tone. "McGee, Ziva go with Detective Morelli to the hospital. Talk to this bond agent and find out what she knows."

"On it Boss." McGee replied. Morelli led the two outside to his truck and the three took off.

"DiNozzo, let's get Ducky back to the airport with the body and the evidence to DC."

_____

_Sorry this is short, I couldn't find a better page break. Next chapter will follow quickly though._


	3. Chapter 3

_As promised, here is the next chapter as well._

Stephanie hated hospitals. Probably because she had been in one to many times to suit her. The raging headache did not seem to want to go away anytime soon and it seemed to be competing with the pain in her shoulder. She could see Ranger just outside of her door talking to someone but she couldn't see who. Ranger turned as if noting her scrutiny and walked into the room.

"Babe." he said. Following him in was Morelli and two others, the both had badges on their hips.

"Cupcake, you ok?" Morelli asked.

"Yea, just peachy." Stephanie replied

"Ok, this is Special Agent McGee and Officer David with NCIS. They need to talk to you about the sailor in the warehouse." Morelli explained.

Stephanie shrugged then regretted the movement. She motioned for her bag lying on a nearby chair. Ranger was closest so he handed it to her.

"I think he was the skip I was after." Stephanie said pulling a file from her bag. "His name was Roberto DePalma, mostly fraud, cons and forgeries in his jacket but usually small time stuff. He was out on bond for selling fake paintings."

Stephanie handed the file to McGee and he stepped away into the hall to make a phone call.

Ziva looked at Stephanie's injuries. "So, what happened exactly?"

It took a few moments for Stephanie to tell her version of events. Ziva was taking notes but shaking her head.

"You are very lucky not to have been killed. Whoever killed Roberto DePalma was not very kind to him." Ziva said

"I know. I saw him up there." Stephanie looked at Morelli. "Has anyone notified Mrs. DePalma?"

Morelli looked pained. "Not yet, we wanted to confirm his identity first before we sent someone over."

Stephanie nodded. "When can I get out of here and go home?"

"They want to keep you overnight just in case, because of the head injury." Morelli said

Stephanie looked as if she was going to argue but the looks she was getting from Ranger, Morelli and Ziva at once meant she was stuck. "Fine, but you better call my mother so she doesn't worry." She looked pointedly at Morelli.

Morelli closed his eyes and sighed. "I will, she is not going to be happy."

"Don't I know it. However, she doesn't lecture you about my work."

Ranger and Morelli stepped into the hall and spoke for a moment. Then Morelli left.

McGee returned. "Gibbs says we need to guard her just in case. If the bad guys find out a witness may be alive, they may come after her."

Ziva nodded. "It would make sense."

"Whoa, wait a minute. She is right here and she doesn't like the sound of this. What do you mean they might come after me?" Stephanie asked a little panicked.

McGee sighed, "It seems that Mr. DePalma had a forged NCIS ID on him when he was killed. That might mean he was into something big and/or got in over his head."

Ranger whistled, "That could be anything from small time theft to big time terrorism. Fake federal ID's cannot be blown off."

McGee and Ziva nodded. Stephanie looked grim.

Ranger moved to Stephanie's side. "Don't worry. Besides them, you have me watching and I have my people keeping an eye on your parents place too."

Stephanie looked into Ranger's eyes. "Do you really think these guys would come after me?"

"If they think you could ruin their plans, yes I do." Ranger replied.

Ziva and McGee watched the byplay for a moment then Ziva looked puzzled for a second.

"I have a question. If you were following Roberto, who is Skip?" she asked

It was Stephanie's turn to look puzzled. "Um, who?"

"You said you thought he was the Skip you were after, who is Skip?" Ziva asked again.

Stephanie looked stunned for a moment. "Oh, a skip is someone who doesn't show up to court after they have made bail. My job is to find them and take them back to jail and reschedule court."

Ziva relaxed a little. "Ah, my mistake. I am still getting used to your American slang." she turned to McGee. "Did Gibbs have a suggestion about what we are to do next?"

McGee shook his head. "Nope, he just said stay put with her and he would let us know.

"I am going to take care of a few things then I will be back later." Ranger said and then motioned Ziva to the door with him. "Here are my numbers. If we need to I have a secure facility we can move her to and/or if you guys need a place to stay while you work on this case. I am going to alert my team and see what my sources can dig up as well."

Ziva nodded and took the card. "Ms. Plum seems to have very well connected friends, Mr. Manoso.

If Ranger was surprised she knew his name he didn't show it; he just quirked an eyebrow.

Ziva chuckled. "I have seen a dossier on you. Impressive for someone not trained as Mossad."

Ranger's mouth quirked a little bit into what could have been a smile; did a two finger salute and left the hospital.

"Want to play cards?" McGee asked


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or Stephanie Plum Series. I only borrow them for play in my own little world and try to put them back the way I found them. Now back to my own little world._

Abby got to work right away as soon as Ducky brought her the evidence from New Jersey. She hated the team being away but figured the sooner she got Gibbs the info he needed the sooner they would be back. She cranked up the music and took a chug on her Caf-Pow and started opening the bags.

______

While Abby was getting to work in her lab, Ducky began the autopsy on Roberto DePalma. "They say everyone has a twin somewhere in the world. It is interesting that you and Anthony were not far away. Of course, your meeting was less than positive. Why, I remember a time in my youth that I was told I looked like someone from Russia. It was all quite exciting as I recall, I'm sure meeting him would have been interesting indeed."

_____

Ducky had warned her about the ID looking like Tony's so while she was running prints and DNA she scanned the ID and started looking it over to determine how it was faked. Her phone rang and she turned down the music a bit. She answered "Gibbs, I don't have anything yet."

Gibbs chuckled on the other end. "I figured, but I thought I would check in anyway."

Abby was just about to retort when the fingerprint match came up. "Well, my silver-haired clairvoyant, the fingerprints did come back to one Roberto DePalma. He's got a record about half a mile long but mostly petty stuff including forgery and cons. He has a brother in the Navy, his name is Erik DePalma and he's currently stationed at the Naval Weapons Station near the coast."

"Give me his commander's name, we may go talk to him tomorrow and see what he knows." Gibbs replied.

Abby gave him the information, then her computer beeped again. She looked at the information regarding the DNA and nearly dropped the phone. "Oh my God. The DNA came back."

"And? You probably got a partial match with the brother right?" Gibbs asked

"Yea, and someone else in our data base." Abby said in a slightly high pitch voice.

"Let me guess, DiNozzo?" Gibbs questioned.

"Uh, yea. The DNA says they probably had the same daddy and the mothers were so close they might have been sisters." Abby exclaimed.

"Do me a favor Abs?" Gibbs began

"Run down the birth certificate." Abby finished "Got it." She got out just as Gibbs hung up.

------------

Ziva and McGee took turns standing guard while the other napped. They had stopped playing cards a little while ago to let Stephanie sleep. Ziva reviewed the Stephanie's file on DePalma. She looked at the woman lying in the bed sleeping restlessly. As if feeling her gaze, Stephanie woke up with a start.

"Shh, it is alright." Ziva said softly. "You are safe now."

It took Stephanie a moment to focus and then remember where she was and why. She brushed her hair back and winced when she hit the goose egg on her forehead. "Mm, bad dream." she mumbled.

Ziva nodded and reached for the glass of water at Stephanie's bedside, handing it to her with a bendy straw.

"I take it though, that this was not your first body?" Ziva asked.

Stephanie grimaced, "Unfortunately no. I seem to find more than my fair share."

"How did you get into bond enforcement?" Ziva asked quietly, not to disturb McGee.

Stephanie chuckled, "Blackmail, Desperation."

Ziva quirked an eyebrow, "Oh?"

Stephanie motioned for Ziva to sit, "I used to be a lingerie buyer and I had gotten let go in a buyout downsizing thing. I had been out of work for six months and my father tells me that my cousin Vinnie was looking for someone to do filing. I showed up and the job had been filled. Connie told me that I should do skip tracing. He said no, I told him I knew some things about his sex life that he would rather his wife not know and my life as a bond enforcement agent began."

"And you have stuck with it." Ziva said

"Well, between Ranger teaching me the basics and a lot of luck on my part, I do ok. When I first started I was Eliza to his Professor Higgins." Stephanie said wryly.

"Ah, I know that one 'My Fair Lady', I watched that with Tony one night." Ziva whispered when McGee shifted in his sleep.

Stephanie shrugged and winced a bit. "It's a living, my mother would prefer I work at the tampon factory or marry a nice man and settle down."

Ziva chuckled at that then moved toward the door when she heard footsteps. She relaxed when she saw Gibbs and Tony. Gibbs quirked a brow and nodded toward the room. Ziva nodded and moved to let Gibbs and Tony into the room.

Stephanie's eyes widened when she saw Tony. "Holy sh*t, he survived that?"

Gibbs looked back at Tony. "No, this is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and I am Special Agent Gibbs. DePalma is very much dead."

"Damn, there goes half my bounty." Stephanie leaned back into her pillows, slightly disappointed.

"Why only half?" Tony asked, strangely curious.

"They prefer live bounties over dead ones. So they cut the bounty to discourage the dead part." Stephanie explained.

Gibbs nodded. "Makes sense, do you own a gun Ms. Plum?"

"Uhm, yea, why?" Stephanie replied

"What caliber? We need to check it against the gunshot wounds to the vic." Gibbs explained.

"I have a .38 special." she said as Gibbs moved toward her bag. "But I didn't have it with me."

Gibbs quirked an eyebrow.

Stephanie looked a little sheepish. "It's at home." Then she mumbled, "In my cookie jar."

Gibbs rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you catch very many of your bounties unarmed Ms. Plum?"

"Yes I do, thank you very much. I just don't like carrying it unless I absolutely have to." Stephanie said defensively.

Gibbs looked in Stephanie's eyes for a moment and she didn't flinch. "Ok. Do you feel up to moving?"

"Yea, if it means I don't have to stay in this hospital anymore." Stephanie said

"Good. DiNozzo will take you home and keep you company. Ziva, you and McGee go talk to the brother." Gibbs ordered

"What are you gonna do Boss?" Tony asked

"Talk to Mrs. DePalma." Gibbs said on the way out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer tap dance: I do not own but only play with NCIS and Stephanie Plum. The stories keep me sane between work, school and a teen._

Stephanie watched the rest of the team leave and then looked at her jeans. "I don't think I'm going to be able to get those one with just one arm."

Tony almost decided to volunteer than decided against it. "Let me see what I can scare up."

After Stephanie got on a pair of loose fitting scrubs she gave Tony directions to her place, holding her belongings in her lap. "Pull over there real quick." Stephanie said pointing to the Tasty Pastry.

Tony pulled over and before he could react, Stephanie was out and walking into the shop. He shook his head and followed her in.

Stephanie had already began pointing out some treats and having them boxed up. "Do you want anything special?"

Tony added a few choices of his own and they both got a large cup of coffee as well. They headed back to the car and were on their way again.

"Sorry, I realized I was starving and I don't have much food in the apartment." Stephanie explained.

"No problem. We can get hyped up on sugar and caffeine. It'll be fun." Tony said with his customary smile.

The pulled into Stephanie's lot and she noticed one of the Rangeman vehicles. When they stopped, Stephanie headed towards it with Tony trailing after her.

Ranger rolled down the window and nodded to them both. "You are all stocked up and Tank will be by later to check on things. Call me if you need anything or if you need to move."

"Ok. Thanks Ranger."

"Babe." Ranger said as he rolled the window up and waited for them to enter the building.

Stephanie led the way to her apartment and unlocked the door. Tony held up his hand and went in first. Stephanie shook her head but let him lead the way. Tony stopped at the noise he heard and realized it was a hamster in his wheel. Stephanie looked around him.

"That's Rex." Stephanie said as she looked into his cage. "Rex, this is Tony." She noticed he had fresh food and water, courtesy of Ranger. She started exploring her cabinets and fridge to see what he left for her. Of course it would all be healthy stuff, but she could live with that.

Stephanie and Tony wolfed down quite a few of the pastry selections and coffee. Stephanie took her medication the hospital gave her and fell asleep a bit later. Tony picked her up carefully and carried her to her bedroom. She protested a bit as he put her on the bed but then she snuggled up to her pillow and was out like a light.

He noticed the window with the fire escape outside and made sure the window was locked. He went back out to the living room and sighed. "Guess it's just you and me Rex."

Rex wriggled his nose and kept running on his wheel. Tony turned on the TV and positioned himself to view the door, the TV and her room, prepared to act if necessary.

_____________

Gibbs sat down across from Mrs. DePalma as she set down a tray of coffee and homemade coffee cake. "Is Erik all right?" she asked with a slight tremor to her voice.

"As far as I know ma'am. I have two of my agents going to talk to him." Gibbs said

"Oh, then I don't understand. I thought you said you were from the Navy" She sounded confused

"I am here because of your other son, Roberto." Gibbs explained "I'm afraid he was killed yesterday."

"Roberto? No, No, he can't be." she cried

"Ma'am, I know this is difficult for you, but I have to ask you a few questions." Gibbs said softly

Mrs. DePalma sniffed into some tissues as she tried to regain her composure. She nodded to let Gibbs know she was ready.

"Do you know where your son was staying?" Gibbs asked

"He was staying here, in the basement." She replied

"What about his friends, where did he work?"

"He worked in the basement too. I didn't meet any of his current friends, he didn't want to bring them home." She sniffled

"I'm going to need to see the basement if that is ok with you." Gibbs told her

She nodded and got up from the couch. "Sure, it's this way." She led him to a door off the kitchen and opened it up. She flipped the light switch just above the railing. "Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs turned and waited for her unasked question.

"Was it that Plum woman, the one that was here yesterday looking for him? Did she kill my son?" She asked with a touch of anger to her tone.

"No Ma'am. She was hurt as well. We think Roberto may have stumbled on to something else. That is why we are involved."

She nodded apparently satisfied with his answer and allowed him access to the stairs.

________

Ziva and McGee were on their way back from talking to Erik DePalma. He took the news regarding his brother's death stoically. He had not been able to give them much information regarding his brother since he had been special weapons testing seclusion for the past month. His commander vouched for him and verified that no visitors had come to the station either. They called Gibbs and gave him an update and he directed them to meet him at Stephanie's to go over what everyone had so far.


	6. Chapter 6

Stephanie woke up with her head feeling much better but her shoulder still tender. She desperately wanted a shower so she padded that direction. The smell wafting from her kitchen however diverted her momentum and she followed her nose instead. She found Tony in her tiny kitchen cooking up what appeared to a very mouthwatering meal. Tony turned when he heard her sniffing and smiled. "Ah, awake just in time. Hungry?"

Stephanie nodded and he scooped up two plates. They each had a good size omelet filled with all sorts of things, including ham, olives and cheese with some buttered toast. He poured her some juice and brought over her medication.

They both sat down on the couch to eat in companionable silence. When she was finished he gathered up their plates and returned them to the kitchen.

"Any word about what DePalma was into or who killed him?" Stephanie asked

"Not yet, but Bossman and the team will be meeting here in a few hours to go over what we have." Tony replied.

Stephanie nodded, "Ok, I'm gonna take a quick shower then maybe we can gather some of our own info."

It didn't take long for Stephanie to get cleaned up. She slid on her loosest fitting clothing which was a pair of black cargo pants and a zip-up hoody. She slipped her feet into her tennis shoes and was ready to go.

"Where do you think you are going?" Tony asked.

"To the office, we may have some information there that might tell us who DePalma was hanging out with or can point us in the right direction." Stephanie replied

"Uh, no. We aren't going anywhere. It might not be safe out there for you." Tony hedged

"Well, I am not sitting around here and doing nothing. So you can either come with me or you can get out of my way." Stephanie grabbed her bag and then stopped at the cookie jar in the kitchen. She took a deep breath and reached in pulling out her .38 and some ammo. She made sure the pistol was loaded then dropped everything into her bag.

Tony noticed her determination and opened the door for her. She swooped out and locked the door behind them. They took the stairs quickly as her injuries would allow her to bounce down them and headed out. She took out her cell phone as soon as they hit the ground floor. "We are headed to the office, you following or watching my place?" She asked. "'Kay, the other NCIS guys may be here in a few hours and we'll call you when we are on the way back."

Tony and Stephanie slid into the car and he gave her a look. "Tank." She said "He's gonna stay and keep an eye on my place and let your people in if they get here before we do."

It didn't take them long to get to the bond office, Stephanie led the way in. "Hiya Connie."

Connie bounded up from behind her desk. "Holy moly Steph, are you ok?" She stopped in her tracks when she saw Tony. "I thought they said he was dead."

Stephanie nodded "DePalma is dead, I have the receipt. This is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Tony this is Connie Rosolli she pretty much runs the office." She handed the receipt Morelli brought her at the hospital.

"Ma'am." Tony said nodding to her.

"We need to find out people that DePalma knew, who would know who he knew, that kind of thing." Stephanie explained

Connie nodded, "You think someone he was working with or for may have off'd him?"

"Something like that." Tony looked at Stephanie. "How can I help?"

Connie ran the computer while Stephanie pulled files and Tony took notes. Luckily there were only a few names to run down and Stephanie knew the burg well. They thanked Connie and headed out of the office.

Just then a loud squeal was heard and before Tony could turn fully to see what was going on a very large black woman in bright pink spandex hit him full tackle. He just barely kept his face from hitting the floor but it didn't stop the air from whooshing out of his lungs. "I've got him, I've got him. Where is my cuffs?"

"LULA!!!" Stephanie yelled "That is not DePalma." Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"What? Don't you be tellin' me nothin' like that. He looks just like his picture." Lula huffed

"That is Tony, he is an Agent with NCIS." Stephanie explained

"NCI what? Is that like CSI?" Lula asked

"He's a cop for the Navy. Now get off of him." Stephanie braced herself to help Lula up. "DePalma is dead"

"Well damn. What's that got to do with the Navy? DePalma weren't no sailor." Lula asked

"He was wearing a Navy uniform and had fake Navy ID." Tony gasped still sitting on the ground

"Oh baby, let me help you up. I'm sorry I got a little over zealous on your ass but a girl has got to do what she's got to do." Lula gave Tony a hand.

"No problem. Makes sense to me." Tony replied

Lula huffed and headed into the office. Stephanie and Tony got back into the car. The stopped and talked to a couple of guys on their list and they got a possible name. They decided to head back to Stephanie's to meet up with everyone else with a quick stop at Pino's along the way.

Stephanie opened the door to her apartment where everyone else including Ranger and Morelli, were already waiting. Everyone was pleased at the arrival of the pizza and beer except Gibbs. He was not happy knowing his witness was out running. "Sorry Bossman, she's like you." Tony said around a bite of pizza. "She wouldn't stay still, so I thought it best to stick close. Besides, we got a lead. Henri Krulick."

Gibbs looked at Stephanie as she handed him a slice and their notes. He sat down and looked through their notes.

"We don't have anything on him yet, but Connie is doing a run down and I figured you guys could check your computers and see if anything pops up." Stephanie explained between bites.

Gibbs handed the notes to McGee and he turned to his laptop and started searching. Ziva looked over his shoulder at the notes. "I think I know this name. Let me check with a few of my contacts as well."

Ziva got up and headed toward the bedroom, dialing her cell. "Shalom.."

------

When the pizza and beer was gone, Gibbs stood up. "What do we know people?"

McGee started, "Henri Krulick aka Syed Assani, is a man for hire. He's on our most wanted list, mostly for organizing hits or arranging to blow things up." McGee turned his computer around for everyone to see a picture of him.

Ziva picked up next, "The Mossad have also been tracking Assani's movements. It does not appear that he had any loyalties to a specific group but the terrorist organizations apparently pay him better than anyone else. They did track him last coming into the US."

"Ok, so we have a known terrorist mercenary on American soil. We think he may be connected to this case because DePalma was working for Krulick. We know DePalma had a fake NCIS ID. So where can we find this bastard?" Gibbs asked

"Connie did a run down on Krulick locally. He was renting the warehouse that DePalma was killed in. She also said Lula found out that a drug dealer named Rabian was killed on Stark Street last week and someone matching Krulick's description took over the house." Stephanie added.

Everyone got up and prepared to move out, Ranger and Morelli looked at Stephanie and then each other. Morelli nodded his head and walked toward Stephanie. "You're not going."

"What do you mean, I'm not going? Like hell I'm not.." Her litany was cut off as Morelli threw her over his shoulder and headed toward her bedroom.

Ranger motioned for the NCIS team to head out of the apartment. "Don't worry; he will keep her busy and safe while we find this Krulick guy. I know Stark Street pretty well, so I will take you there."

"Makes sense to me." Gibbs replied. Tony chuckled

Gibbs rode with Ranger and Tank while Tony, Ziva and McGee followed. Ranger found a nice dark alley to park and he led Gibbs in to recon. Ranger gave Tank a signal and he led the rest of the NCIS team in. They took the house quickly but to their disappointment it was empty. They did find some parts that could easily be the remnants of bomb making materials. Ziva saw the device under the table first, "MOVE!!"

A few seconds later the house on Stark Street blew up.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Ok, I know how the last chapter ended and it looks bad. However, it could be worse so maybe look on the bright side? _

Abby had the birth certificates that Gibbs asked for and shook her head. She had tried to call him earlier to let him know but it went straight to voicemail. She headed out to the parking lot to head over to McGee's to take Jethro out and make sure he had food and water, then she would indulge herself with her own meal. Abby had her mind full of things to do that she didn't notice the man in the shadows until it was to late. He zapped her and she collapsed into his arms.

____

Stephanie was furious. She was perfectly capable of going to the house on Stark, it's not like she had never been down there before. Morelli had tried very hard to convince her that they could be doing other things. The group had been gone for a while when Morelli's phone rang. He picked it up and his eyes widened. "How bad?"

Stephanie was getting dress while Joe was on the phone. She wanted to be ready to go as soon as he was. She was not getting left behind again.

Morelli hung up the phone and threw his own clothes on. "The house blew up."

"What? Are they? Who?" Stephanie stammered.

"They're ok, that was Ranger." Morelli said quietly. "A little singed, but ok. They are lying low to make it look like their gone. I'm headed over there now."

"I'm going too." She said following him out.

"No, stay here. Keep the door locked. I have to go in an official capacity." Morelli said, stopping her.

"But.."

"One of Rangers men is going to come and pick you up and take you to Rangeman. Everyone is going to head that way." Morelli kissed her forehead. "Please Cupcake."

Stephanie nodded looking a little disappointed. She locked the door behind him and leaned against it's cool surface for a moment. Her phone ringing broke her out of her funk and she walked over to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Stephanie, have you seen your grandmother?" Her mother said as greeting.

"Um, no, why?" Stephanie asked warily

"Because, your grandmother went to get her hair done this afternoon and she didn't come home for dinner." her mother explained. "I thought she came to see you."

"No, but I will look into it and let you know ok." Stephanie replied. "Don't worry, I'll find her."

Stephanie hung up the phone and wondered what else could happen before the night was over. She went to her purse and dumped everything out rather then rooting around in it for her cell phone when she noticed something else drop out. It looked like one of those thumb drives and she knew she didn't own one. She slid over to McGee's laptop and put the drive in, clicking the buttons to let her access it. When the information came up she leaned back in shock. They looked like plans, and very detailed ones at that. Stephanie was still reeling about the information she was reading when her cell phone rang. She dove for it and answered slightly breathless. "Hello?"

"Hello Ms. Plum. My name is Henri Krulick and I believe that you have something that belongs to me."

Stephanie detected a slight accent on the man. "What makes you think that I have something of yours?"

"Because Roberto DePalma did not have it on him when I killed him nor was it in his mother's basement where he lived." Krulick explained. "Therefore, he must have given it to you."

"I didn't talk to DePalma. He was dead when I got there." Stephanie hedged.

"No, you see I believe you followed Roberto to the warehouse where he temporarily disabled you. I think he left my information with you then." Krulick surmised. "If I had realized you were in the building at the time. I would have finished the job."

Stephanie swallowed "If I have this information, why should I give it to you?"

"Because if you don't give it to me. I will kill your grandmother and Ms. Abigail Sciuto in a most unpleasant manner." Krulick threatened then disconnected.

Her phone beeped to let her know that she had a message; it was a picture from Krulick. She opened it up and saw a picture of her grandmother and a Goth girl tied to chairs back to back. She saved a copy of the information on the thumb drive to McGee's computer and sent him an e-mail to check his computer asap.

Her phone rang again. "What do you need me to do?" She answered.

"Ah, I thought you would see things my way." Krulick replied. "Meet me at the warehouse in an hour."

"How do I know they are alright?" Stephanie asked

"You will just have to trust me. Oh, and by the way. If I see NCIS or any cops, I will kill them." Krulick said as he hung up.

Stephanie sent a copy of the picture to Ranger's phone with a message then hung up. She went and adjusted her wardrobe which included the holster for her weapon. She was scared to death but her grandmother and the girl were depending on her to help them and she was not going to let them down. There was a knock on her door and she knew it was one of the guys from Rangeman but she still checked the peephole. She opened the door to Ramon who looked her up and down and quirked an eyebrow. "You look pissed. What's up?"

"I'll tell you on the way." Her cell rang just as she and Ramon got into the SUV.

She said in response "The warehouse on Smith. Tell McGee to check his e-mail, I copied everything on the drive to his laptop."

She listened for a second. "I have to do this. He wants me to deliver it or he will kill them. I will have Ramon stop a couple of blocks away then drive in alone. You can pick him up there."

__________

On the other end of the phone, Ranger listened to Stephanie. She didn't have much of a plan but they didn't have time to meet up and work one out. They would have to do it on the fly. McGee had pulled up his e-mail on his phone and then motioned to one of Ranger's computers. At Ranger's nod he jumped on and accessed his laptop by remote to pull up the information Stephanie sent him. He motioned Gibbs over when he saw it.

"Be careful, we will catch up with you. Keep your phone on." Ranger hung up and turned toward the team. "If we go now, we can follow in behind her and get them out."

Gibbs nodded and the team all prepared to move. Ranger had shown him the picture on the phone and the silver-haired man had blanched. They had immediately contacted their people to confirm their forensic scientist was missing.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I promise when I am through I will put them back where I found them with nary a scratch. Reviews welcome._

Abby woke up slowly, her head and neck ached. She looked around as best she could before lifting her head up and realized she was not alone. She felt, rather than saw the person behind her but noticed they were tied in chairs back to back. She tried to look at their bindings when she noticed that attached to one side on them was a bomb. It looked like there were some wires connecting through their bindings as well so if anyone tried to free them without disarming the bomb, they would all blow up. She tried not to freak out and hoped Gibbs knew she was missing. Just then, the person behind her began to wake up as well.

"Well, isn't this just a pickle? I should have known that young man was up to no good." the woman said, and then she noticed she was not alone. "Stephanie?"

"Um no ma'am, my name is Abigail, but you can call me Abby." Abby replied "Who's Stephanie?"

"My granddaughter, I'm sure she will find us soon. She usually does." the lady replied. "I'm Edith Mazur, but you can call me Grandma if you like. They all do."

Abby chuckled, "Ok Grandma. Does this happen to you a lot?"

"Stephanie is a bounty hunter. Some of the bad guys she goes after don't like it sometimes and they sometimes pick on me because I'm old. Her and her friends usually catch them and get me back." She explained. "I don't mind though, it gives my life adventure."

Abby shook her head at this strange woman. "Well, I don't mean to add to much to our adventure, but it looks like a bomb is attached to our chairs as well as us. So we need to be careful and try and warn whoever comes to get us."

Grandma Mazur looked down and saw the little box with the blinking lights. "Well, ain't that just peachy?"

_______

Ramon stopped the SUV and got out so Stephanie could slide over. "You might want to lose the shoulder holster. I have an ankle one that might be better. Not as noticeable."

Stephanie nodded and eased the holster off and on to the floor. She took Ramon's ankle one and put it on, sliding her .38 into it. It felt weird but not to heavy.

"Good luck. We won't be far behind you." Ramon said backing away from the SUV.

"Thanks Ramon." Stephanie said as she pulled away.

A few minutes later another Rangeman vehicle pulled up and Ramon jumped in. They pulled up about a block later and Ramon, Tony and Ziva all got out and headed around to the back of the warehouse. A moment later Tank and McGee pulled up and got out and moved close to a side door. Ranger drove his vehicle past the warehouse to the other side and prepared to wait. They saw Stephanie prepare to go in and Ranger's phone rang. He attached a microphone to the speaker so everyone could hear her over the comm. "Here goes nothing." she said.

______

Stephanie walked into the building and moved slowly, her eyes adjusting to the low light. The first thing she found was a body. She looked down and realized it wasn't Krulick but a kid, couldn't be much more than nineteen. His eyes were open in surprise with a bullet in his forehead. She shuddered and moved around him.

The warehouse was pretty empty but she noticed an office on a second level. Her eyes tracked the stairs leading down from it and headed that direction. She kept her back to a wall while looking out into the rest of the warehouse. Happy that she didn't get shot coming up the stairs she tried to peek through the window to the office. It was covered with grime and made it very difficult to see. She inched her way closer to the door and tried the door knob. It was unlocked, she pulled it open and jumped back. When nothing happened she peeked inside the door and saw the two women tied up just like in the picture.

"Grandma, are you alright?" Stephanie said as she ran over to the two women. She looked over the older woman with a careful eye.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." Grandma replied

"But not for long." the man in the doorway supplied, a gun in one hand and a little remote in the other.

Stephanie turned slowly toward Krulick, she recognized him from his photo. She stepped between him and the two women in the chairs. "Let them go." She reached into her pocket slowly and pulled out the thumb drive. "I brought you what you wanted."

"Excellent, toss it over to me please and our little meeting can end." Krulick demanded. At Stephanie's hesitation, "I could just shoot you and take it."

Stephanie sighed and tossed the drive to him. "Now let them go."

"I think not, but enjoy your last moments." He said as he slammed the door shut in Stephanie's face.

"Damn." Stephanie exclaimed. She turned back around and headed for the two women.

"You can't untie us." Abby said, stopping Stephanie in her tracks. "We're booby trapped."

"Crap." Stephanie said as she moved around to look at the device.

"I think if we can bypass the wires to us and make it think we are still connected then it might work." Abby explained.

"So we need some wire that we can connect to the wires that are connected to you." Stephanie asked. She got up and looked around; there wasn't anything else in the office with them but the door leading out and another door. She moved over to it and opened into a small bathroom. It too was bare. Then she snapped her fingers.

"Grandma, are you wearing one of your old bra's?" Stephanie asked

"Yes, why?" She responded hesitantly

"Because, I have an idea." Stephanie replied.


	9. Conclusion

Krulick moved quickly down the stairs toward the back of the warehouse. He slid the box back that he had covering the sheet metal he had cut through. It would get him into the warehouse next door. He knew this one was covered which is why he had a plan. He wiggled through to the other side and made his way to the back door. He knew the light was out over this door since he broke it a week ago. Nobody had bothered to fix it. He slid out into the night. Ranger and Gibbs were waiting for him.

Krulick's last move before the bullets hit him was to push the button on his remote. The explosion was deafening. Gibbs took off at a dead run with Ranger following close behind him. They both skidded to a stop in the front of the warehouse. There was now a good size hole in the wall on the second floor. Tony, Ziva and Ramon showed up a second later also looking up at the hole, horror written on their faces. Before anyone could move, McGee and Tank walked out the front door of the warehouse helping Abby and Grandma Mazur.

"GIBBS, SHE SAVED US. STEPHANIE SAVED US." Abby yelled/cried.

Tony and Ranger both ran inside and up to the second floor. They found Stephanie trying to stand up and they got to her side immediately. Her backside was a bit singed and she had lost her balance, but no other injuries were immediately apparent.

Tony and Ranger helped her down the stairs; she wouldn't allow either of them to pick her up. By the time they made it outside an ambulance and Morelli had arrived. Abby, Grandma and Stephanie were all rushed to the hospital as a precaution to make sure they were ok. Morelli made sure that Krulick's body was taken care of.

The team got ready to head to the hospital when they heard Ranger chuckle and Morelli burst out laughing. They turned to see what was going on and saw what they were seeing. They couldn't believe their eyes. It was McGee who had to ask, "Is that a toilet?"

Smashed through the windshield of the vehicle Stephanie had arrived in was a toilet. "It must have launched when the bomb went off." Ziva stated.

Everyone shook their head and headed for the hospital. They would just have to get the explanation from the women there.

______

Ziva shook her head in amazement. "Let me get this straight. You used an underwire from a bra to make a new connection, untied them and then dropped the bomb into the water tank of the toilet."

Stephanie nodded. "I noticed the toilet was one of those old solid porcelain things and the door was steel. Grandma's old bra had a steel underwire to it. We all agreed we had to try, especially since we saw Krulick had a remote thing."

"And the reason they thought you were killed was because you had just pushed the door closed when the bomb exploded and it threw you across the room." Tony asked

"Yep, the sound bounced off the walls and made us all deaf for a bit. We were just picking ourselves up when Tank and McGee showed up." Abby explained.

"How is your Grandmother?" McGee asked.

She motioned to where her grandmother had cornered Gibbs. "I think she's fine, the doctors are going to keep an eye on her for a day or two to make sure since she is older and frailer. Not that she would ever admit it."

"I like your grandmother, she reminds me of the nuns I bowl with." Abby said with a chuckle.

Gibbs walked back over to where everyone was waiting. "Your grandmother has suggested that we go to your mother's house for a decent meal before we head out."

"Yea, I talked to my mother a little bit ago to let her know we are ok." Stephanie said. "So whose virtues was she explaining, mine or her own?" Stephanie asked, nodding toward her grandmother.

Gibbs smiled, "Her own. I told her I would only slow her down."

Stephanie laughed at that as they all headed out.


	10. Epilogue

_Epilogue. _

The meal at the Plum residence was delicious and plentiful as promised. Frank Plum took the meal in stride and even thanked Gibbs when he praised Stephanie's actions that day. Ellen Plum cried and hugged Stephanie much to the latter's embarrassment then proceeded to extol her virtues to the two younger men at the table.

Stephanie led them all out after the meal was done and the pineapple-upside down cake was vanquished. "Well, it was nice to meet you guys despite the bomb happy terrorist that brought us together."

"The feeling is mutual Stephanie, if you are ever in DC, look us up." Tony replied with Ziva and McGee nodding in agreement.

Abby gave her a light squeeze taking both of their injuries into consideration. "Tell your grandma I will keep in touch."

"I will." Stephanie replied, "If you guys are ever back in Trenton, let me know."

"Oh, that reminds me Tony." Abby exclaimed. "Your mother and Inez DePalma were sisters."

Tony shook his head, "No Abby, my mother didn't have any family."

"Tony, I pulled the birth certificates. I also pulled Roberto and Erik's. I have them back at the lab." Abby said. "You three all have the same father."

Tony was in shock. He had family and his father never told him.

"Why don't you stay for another day or two Tony and talk to Mrs. DePalma, she might be able to shed some light on things." Gibbs said.

"You can stay at my place." Stephanie offered. "I'll take you over there tomorrow."

__________

Tony and Stephanie sat in the car looking at Mrs. DePalma's place. Tony was nervous, what was he going to say to this woman. Tony got out of the car and Stephanie led the way to the door. She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

The door opened to reveal Inez DePalma, when she saw Stephanie she frowned. "What do you want? Haven't you brought enough grief to this house?"

"Actually, I brought someone to meet you." Stephanie explained. She stepped to the side to give Tony room to come forward.

"Anthony?" Inez whispered. "Is that you?"

Tony looked confused, "Yes Ma'am. Have we met?"

Inez opened the door to let Tony in. Stephanie shifted and turned to head toward the car. "No. You can come in too Ms. Plum. It's alright."

Stephanie and Tony followed Inez into her living room and she stopped to really look at Tony. "You look just like him."

"I know. I saw Roberto, I'm very sorry for your loss." Tony replied.

"I didn't mean Roberto, but yes you do look like him. I meant, your father." Inez explained.

Tony sat down on the couch next to Stephanie.

Inez looked at Stephanie. "How did you find him?"

"He found us. He is with NCIS." Stephanie explained.

Inez looked at Tony again. "Oh, I bet your father doesn't like that, you didn't follow him into the business world."

Tony chuckled, "No ma'am, not at all. Ma'am, I'm kind of confused. I was told my mother did not have any family."

Inez nodded, "I know and I think that is partly my fault. I take it you discovered that you and Roberto share the same father too?"

Tony nodded and waited for her to continue.

"When your mother, my sister died, I came up for the funeral. Your father and I were both very upset and we ended up comforting each other. I found out a bit later that I was pregnant and called your father. He denied everything and said as far as he was concerned, your mother had no family and I was never to contact him again. I met Joshua DePalma a few months later and he married me to protect me and the baby. Two years later he gave me Erik."

Inez got up and went to a chest in the corner. She brought out a heavy volume of photographs. "I have pictures of your mother and I when we were girls."

Tony shifted over next to Inez and spent a couple of hours poring over the book. He listened to Inez with rapt attention. At some point Stephanie had gone to the kitchen and made the pair some coffee, Inez stopped long enough to instruct Stephanie on where the cookies were too.

Inez made Tony promise to try and come back for Thanksgiving or Christmas and he promised he would as long as he wasn't working.

Stephanie drove Tony to the airport and he gave her a soft hug goodbye. "Thank you for getting mixed up in this crazy business. I don't think I would have ever discovered Inez without you."

Stephanie smiled, "I just hope next time we see each other it's without the murder and mayhem. Holiday chaos would be plenty crazy enough."

She watched as he made his way through security and to the gate for his plane and she headed back out to her car. Ranger and Morelli were both there waiting for her.

"Do you think we will see those guys again?" Morelli asked

"Probably, at least Tony. He has family here now." Stephanie replied.

Morelli and Ranger nodded in agreement. "Do me a favor though, next time, leave the crazy bomb terrorist out of the equation?" Morelli asked hugging Stephanie to his side.

"No promises. You never know with me and my luck." Stephanie said laughing "You just never know.


End file.
